Vegans: I have some questions for you?

Question

I heard that vegans don't drink milk and don't use wool.

I don't get it because the calves get the milk too and I never heard of milking cows hurting them.

For wool they just shave the fur off the sheep and it grows back?

Is it just your preference than or are there different types of vegans?

Answer 1

WOOL : http://www.savethesheep.com/
"mulesing, in which strips of wrinkly skin are removed from lambs in order to prevent infestation by maggots. "
They remove the skin with out pain killers

MILK : " Cows produce milk for the same reason that humans do—to nourish their young—but calves on dairy farms are taken away from their mothers when they are just 1 day old. They are fed milk replacers (including cattle blood) so that their mothers’ milk can be sold to humans."

Answer 2

I am not a vegan but I will tell you why I do not drink milk.
Cows are injected with hormones to ensure they keep producing milk and an abundance of it, this is unnatural for their utters which can result in infections, most farmers automatically inject their cows with antibiotics to prevent an utter infection. There can also be blood and/or pus in the milk. It is thought by some people that the reason 2,3,4,5,6,7 year olds are getting their periods so early and so common now is from these hormones found in things like milk. There are plenty of other things to get calcium and vitamins from.
I don't own anything wool, I think it is itchy and I prefer cotton over anything.

Answer 3

The problem with drinking milk is the calves for whom it is designed DON'T get it--the calf is taken away from his/her mom within hours of birth. What happens to them is another issue entirely.

Cows are mammals, and mammals produce milk for their babies. In nature, a mammal gets pregnant, gives birth, and her baby nurses. Different animals have different weaning ages, but once an animal is weaned, s/he never has milk again. And except in rare instances, a baby animal never has the milk of another creature.

This is different in a dairy facility. The cows are kept almost constantly pregnant, fed hormones to increase milk production and antibiotics to ease the infections that result from constant milking. You wanna drink that stuff?

A lot of wool comes from Australia, where the sheep are mutilated (mulesing) and bred to grow extra thick coats of wool. They are sheared too early in the season, and some die of cold. The shearers are paid per sheep, so they have every incentive to hurry and no incentive to treat the sheep well. When production declines, the sheep are sent on ships to the Middle East. Sometimes sheep are tossed overboard if they're ill.

In the U.S., wool can very well be a slaughterhouse byproduct.

Answer 4

There are differing levels / types of vegans...and many opinions on what is acceptable for which type. Each needs to make his or her own choice of what is acceptable.

There's a big difference between a farm family that uses some of the cows milk for themselves and commercial dairies where the calves that the milk is being created to nourish are often as not being "raised" to make veal for humans. [and in a horribly in-humane way!]

Wool can be sheared off, an acceptable use to some, but shoes and boots that are made from leather is an area of controversy for many.

Answer 5

I think that the bottom line here is that animals that are raised on commercial farms be it for their milk, wool, hide, meat, etc are not treated well and ergo these animals live miserable lives (generally speaking). ...And this is all in the name of filling human demand for these products. How many omnivores really think about what is on their plate and where it came from? How many are grateful to the animal that gave its life so that you can eat the steak, drumstick, chop, etc? I just try to put myself in the animal's place and ask, how would I feel if I lived like they do?

Most educated Vegans do not use or consume animal products because they are basically boycotting an industry that is exploitive, gluttonous and cruel. Instead it is common place for Vegans to purchase goods from companies that are animal and eco-conscious.

And yes there are different types of Vegans. Two examples are dietary and lifestyle. Dietary vegans do not consume animal products whereas lifestyle Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind.

I hope that helps answer your question.

Answer 6

Well, as others have said, there's varying degrees of vegans and vegetarians. To limit your question just to the "vegan" part, there are vegans who only restrict their beliefs to their diet, others also to their clothing, and some even to their toothpaste or cosmetics.

The reason why vegans don't balk at calves getting milk is because....well, geez, that's what calves are born to do, drink cow's milk - much like a human baby is born to be fed on its own mother's milk. Humans are the only species to drink milk beyond infanthood, and the only species to drink the milk of ANOTHER species. Way weird, when you think about it. Maybe so many of us are lactose intolerant because we were never meant to drink the milk of a cow in the first place.

And to the question "well, won't the cow get uncomfortable not being milked"? My question is more like "won't it be uncomfortable hooked up to a milking machine pretty much 24/7, with steel pipes doing the work of a baby cow?" Modern cows (at least in the U.S.) are milked beyond reason, and if they can't hack it they just pump them full of hormones to make them produce more.

And guess who's drinking those hormones being passed through the milk? Any wonder why little girls are menstruating at like eight years old now?

For the wool, if they don't believe in wearing it, it's because they embrace the general vegan philosophy of leaving nature in its own unspoiled harmony. Much like they won't buy products that do animal testing or such.

Personally, my own beliefs are limited to my diet - nothing more. And even I still eat seafood.

Answer 7

well, i cant speak for all vegans because we all adopt veganism for different reasons but I dont drink milk because of the condition the cow is kept in. they are also giving hormones and such so they produce much more milk than natural. also, they are constantly kept impregnate so they lactate. the cows born are either sent to veal farms or turn in to milk cows also. plus, cow milk is for baby cows, man :)

Answer 8

Mmmm so it's better to leave sheep infested with maggots that burrow into their butts and skin? That's why their tails are banded. If the tails are left on, feces collects and matts around their butts and then maggots breed in the area and burrow into their flesh. And as for the painkiller, have you ever tried to grab a sheep and inject it with a sedative or painkiller - perhaps not. As for shearing them quickly, sheep have to be handled in a certain way. When you sit them on their butts to shear them, you cannot let them get beyond the vertical or their lungs fill with fluid and they literally drown in their own secretions. Hence the idea of grabbing them, shearing as quickly as possible and letting them go. Have you ever wondered why you don't see sheep laid on their backs in a field? As for throwing a sick sheep overboard, would you rather have 100's die due to bio hazard or lose one and save the rest - they are all going to slaughter anyway. Would also be curious as to how many of you have ever been on a real farm or do you just spout the purported truth that PETA throws out there? What about actually leaving the confines of this country and going to Australia to back up your tales of barbaric Aussie shearers? I grew up on a farm with diary and sheep and one of my best friends worked as a shearer for 2 years on an Aussie sheep station. I think I have something to base my opinion on other than PETA brainwashing!

Answer 9

I've never heard of vegans not using wool, and I know lots of vegans. Usually vegans don't eat any meat, or any animal product of any kind, such as eggs, or dairy products like milk and cheese etc.

Answer 10

Well, I don't really understand the whole wool thing or milk thing. The cow gets very uncomfertable if it isnt milked. And sheep can get infections on their skin if they are not sheered. I was looking at he Peta2 myspace and it said something about milking a cow is the same as raping it ( oook ) Just letting you know your not the only one that doesn't get it. lol